


led by a beating heart

by allthefadinglights



Category: Formula 1 RPF, Formula 2 RPF, Motorsport RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Callum owns a bookstore, First Kiss, Getting Together, Juan is a little shit, M/M, Marcus is a loyal customer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29382693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allthefadinglights/pseuds/allthefadinglights
Summary: Callum runs a bookstore. Marcus buys a few too many books.
Relationships: Marcus Armstrong/Callum Ilott
Comments: 9
Kudos: 80





	led by a beating heart

**Author's Note:**

> Second one today! I like this one a bit better than the previous one I posted, even though I had to rewrite the majority of this because I got stuck on the plot. 
> 
> Cliché tropes, part 4: bookstore AU! Hope you enjoy!

Somehow, Callum’s big dream turned out to be a little disappointing. He’s not sure how it ended up like this, but clearly, he hadn’t thought it through. With a business degree, he could get a job pretty much anywhere in an office, but he had chosen to run his own business. He bought a bookstore. His dad asked him if he was okay when he broke the news to them and his sister just laughed. “Are you sure that’s a good idea, sweetie?” his mom had said. To be honest, Callum wasn’t sure of it at all, but it’s what he had wanted to do for years and with the money to make it a reality, why not? Okay, fine, most of the money came out of his trust fund but it was a much better way to invest it than if he’d bought expensive cars and clothes. What rich 25-year-old bought a bookstore?

It hadn’t exactly gone smoothly. In fact, it had actually already gone wrong before he even got the keys. The money had been transferred already but when he called to make an appointment to receive his keys, the estate agent hadn’t recognised his name or the building. He thought he’d been scammed. Who even gets scammed buying a bookstore? But eventually, his details had turned up and he’d gotten the key no problem. That should’ve been a sign to cancel it, find himself a nice office job and get some house with a white picket fence. But Callum had persevered. Whether or not that was a smart thing to do, he’s yet to find out. 

His current problem is a bit more pressing, which is the fact that it’s not that popular to buy physical books anymore. A lot of people prefer ebooks these days, making it easier to take a whole shelf of books with you on just a single little device. Callum didn’t see the appeal in it, but maybe he was a little old fashioned in that aspect. 

“Callum, I have a customer who needs some advice?” someone yells at him up the stairs. Callum sighs and rests his forehead on his desk for a second. That would be Juan, the only employee he has, and an avid lover of audiobooks. Why he applied at the store, Callum doesn’t know because he doesn’t really know much, but it’s nice to be able to do his paperwork in his office instead of behind the counter. “Callum!”

“Yeah, I’m coming,” he calls back, taking a deep breath before getting up. He makes an effort to paste a friendly smile on his face just before he rounds the corner to the front. He’s happy with any customer he can get, but this one is particularly difficult. Callum tries explaining a dozen times that they don’t have the very specific book from 1956 she’s looking for in stock right now, but he can order it for pickup next week. The woman just refuses to listen. He sees Juan shooting him a glance that says ‘I’m sorry’ and Callum makes a face at him when the woman isn’t looking. Finally, she leaves, haughtily saying she’ll get her book at another store. Callum wishes her good luck, because it’s very unlikely any store will just have a book published in 1956 lying around. But he refrains from saying that last part. 

“Sorry,” Juan winces when Callum returns to the counter. “I didn’t know she’d be that annoying. She just requested a book I had never heard of so I figured you could help.”

“It’s fine,” Callum sighs. “Some people are just…” he waves his arms around, “like that, I guess. Why ask if you’re not even going to listen to the answer?” 

Juan shrugs. “They just want to complain because their lives are boring and this is their only form of entertainment?”

The little bell by the door jingles as someone comes in so they stop slagging off customers, Juan starting up a conversation about the essay he has to write for his course in college. He has to read a book for it, which Callum finds incredibly funny but Juan is quite annoyed about it. He tells Callum to stop laughing at him. “Juan, darling, you’ve read maybe three books in your life and you work in a bookstore. And now they’re making you read for class? You have to at least see how that’s funny.” Juan pouts at him. “And no, I will not read it for you and give you a short summary. I did that once because I owed you one, never again. Use SparkNotes or something.”

“Hi,” a voice interrupts them, “sorry to bother, but I’m looking for some books to read for English class?” Callum is about to laugh and send Juan to help him but when he turns around, he gets a little starstruck. He’s cute. Really cute. Juan prods him in the side and Callum blinks. Right, customer.

“Yeah, of course. What are you looking for?” The boy lists some books Callum knows he has on hand - they’re quite popular with the local secondary schools and colleges to put on the reading list. “Yeah, I should have quite a few of those, if you’ll just follow me.” Juan wiggles his eyebrows at him and Callum makes a mental note that he needs to dock some of his pay for being a little shit. “So, you had to read it for class, you said?” He really wants to know if this cute guy is college-age or if he should get over himself real fast. 

“Yeah, I’m taking a minor in English literature, god knows why, and they’re making us re-read some old classics.” He rolls his eyes at that. “Already regret taking that class but it’s too late to switch. Besides, there’s no other minor I found interesting so I guess I’m stuck with this.” Definitely college-age then, Callum can breathe again. “I really just need one of these, I’ll come back another time to get the next one once I’m done with this one.”

“Of course! We’re open every day of the week, except Sundays. Any preference on which one you wanna read first? I think I have most of them,” Callum replies. The boy names one of the books from his list as Callum nods and leads him to the classics section of his little store. 

“So, you work here part-time? Do you still go to college?” the boy asks, curious. 

“I’m actually the owner of this store,” Callum says, chuckling when he sees the realisation dawn. 

“Oh shit, I’m sorry for assuming. I just usually imagine bookstores are owned by old people who are very passionate about books. You just don’t really seem the type, you know? That’s cool though, can I ask how old you are?”

“I get that a lot, it’s fine. I’m twenty-five, this has always been my big dream since I was little.” Callum isn’t sure why he’s telling him this - surely the boy doesn’t need to know his life story. But he did ask Callum about it, in a way. And he seems interested in what Callum has to say. “Here’s your book.” It’s almost a shame he doesn’t need anything else because Callum would love to talk to him a bit more.

“Thanks! I’ll be back as soon as I finish this one.” It sounds like a promise. Callum watches him pay for it, Juan handling the transaction. “Thanks again, I’ll see you next time.” He waves as he leaves, the little bell jingling again as the door closes behind him.

“Oh my god, you are so interested in him,” Juan says straight away. “If this was a cartoon, you’d have literal heart eyes right now.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Callum replies pleasantly. “He’s a customer, he might not even come back for another book. There’s no way he’s interested in me anyway.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Juan mumbles, earning himself a whack on the head with one of the books on the counter. “What? I’ve never seen you talk that much to a customer without looking like you want to die. And you didn’t give him a customer service smile but a real one. I know the difference by now.”

“Juan, please just drop it. I don’t even know his name.” Juan grumbles something but complies, though not without giving Callum a meaningful look.

It takes the boy a week to show up again. Callum’s upstairs in his office giving himself a headache going over numbers and figures when Juan calls him downstairs, yelling something about classics. He bloody knows where the classics are, Callum knows he does. So why he has to come downstairs is a mystery to him. Until he sees the customer in question and Juan grinning at him. 

It becomes a regular thing, once a week. Callum learns his name is Marcus, he has two siblings and he’s actually from New Zealand and a big reader. He has to have bought at least half of Callum’s classics stock by now, but Callum won’t complain because he gets to see him every Tuesday. It’s become the highlight of his week. He has had to threaten Juan with docking his pay because he’s unable to control his face when Marcus comes in. It’s empty threats anyway, he likes Juan and he needs the help around the store. 

On a sunny Tuesday in April, Marcus doesn’t show. Callum’s ashamed to admit he’s disappointed because he’s gotten so used to having a little chat with Marcus every week. Juan teases him about it, but stops when he realises Callum’s actually upset about it. “Jesus Callum, you got it bad,” Juan says. “And you just pine from afar instead of asking him out?”

“I’d rather not harass my customers,” Callum replies. 

“Yeah, he’s not just a customer though. You spent almost an hour talking to him last week, I had to actually help customers while you were making heart eyes at him.”

“I do pay you for that, you are aware, right? That’s literally your job?” Callum says dryly. 

Juan waves a hand at him. “That’s not relevant right now. For the love of god, just ask him out next time. Or at the very least, get his phone number.”

Callum’s quiet for a second. “He might not come back anymore.”

“Callum, you are aware he’s bought over twenty books, right? Not a single class would assign that many books to read in that amount of time. He’s been coming back for _you_ , the books are just a good excuse to keep seeing you. Sure, the first two or three he might’ve actually needed but twenty? No way.” Callum isn’t sure when Juan became the one with the brains in his store, but he’s right. Assigning that many books to read for class would be inhumane. 

“You’re right,” he says then, admitting defeat.

“Finally, he sees the light,” Juan says, dramatically raising his arms. “Just ask him out next week. He’ll be back, trust me.” 

It turns out Juan is right. Marcus appears just after opening time the next week, out of breath and apologetic for missing last week. Callum’s really happy to see him, chats with him for 30 minutes straight while Juan sends him meaningful looks from behind the counter. “Can we, uh,” Marcus starts, looking almost shy, which is odd because Marcus is anything but shy - or so Callum has learned by now. “Can we go up to your office for a second?” Callum nods, leads him to the stairs and up to his office. It’s a tiny space with a desk and a chair crammed into it, not much room otherwise, so Callum sits on his desk as Marcus stops in the door opening. 

“What’s going on?” he asks Marcus, who gives him a nervous smile. 

“I think by now you’ve realised I’m not buying books for class anymore. We only got assigned three to read this semester and I’ve bought a lot more than that. I guess I just needed an excuse to keep coming back here.” Callum doesn’t need to ask why - guess Juan was right. “I’ve been coming back to talk to you. And it’s taken me so long to even pluck up the courage to do this, but do you wanna go for coffee sometime?” He’s fiddling with the hem of his shirt, cheeks flushed.

“Of course,” Callum says softly. “In fact, you beat me to it. I was going to ask you the same thing. I just didn’t want you to feel like I was harassing you into going out with me.” 

“Never,” Marcus says, looking up at him and smiling. “I was afraid you’d feel like you owed me something because I’ve bought so many books from here.”

“Juan is gonna be so smug about this, he’s been saying this to me for ages,” Callum sighs. 

Marcus steps a little closer to him - and the office is small as it is. “I know this is usually a thing after dates and not before, but can I?” 

“I’d consider our weekly chats dates, wouldn’t you?” Callum chuckles and Marcus agrees. “But yes, I’d like nothing more.” He pulls Marcus in with his hands on his hips as Marcus closes the distance between them, kissing him softly at first but deepening the kiss when Callum lets him. He doesn’t know how long they stand there, exchanging kisses and just enjoying each other’s presence, but they get rudely interrupted by Juan. 

“Can’t say I’m surprised,” Juan says, leaning against the door frame. “But there’s a customer downstairs and I need your help because I don’t know shit about Shakespeare.” Callum gives him the finger, but he knows he has to go. He still has a store to run. 

“Go,” Marcus says quietly, but not before stealing another kiss. “I’ll pick you up at closing time? We can go for dinner if you want.”

“I thought you said coffee,” Callum jokes. “Yeah, dinner sounds good. Can’t wait.” He presses another kiss to Marcus’ lips before finally pulling away and following Juan down the stairs, waving Marcus goodbye when he sneaks out the door. He’ll see him in a few hours anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always much appreciated!


End file.
